Blazers hit Spurs’ sore spot

With their injured All-Star point guard sidelined in street clothes, they blasted Detroit and Chicago by a combined 57 points, looking suspiciously like the same dominant team that had raced to the top of the NBA standings.

Then came Friday night at the AT&T Center, a visit from the Portland Trail Blazers, and the cold slap of reality in the form of a 136-106 loss.

If it makes the Spurs feel any better, with the way Portland played in dealing them the most lopsided home defeat of the Tim Duncan era, not even a healthy Parker — cloned five times over — could have saved them.

“We felt bad, embarrassed after the game,” center Tiago Splitter said. “We’re not used to this.”

Behind 35 points and nine assists from point guard Damian Lillard, who has rendered the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award a one-man race, the Blazers rattled off 79 points in the second half and 46 in the fourth quarter to stun the Spurs (48-15).

It was the Spurs’ largest margin of defeat at home since a 125-92 loss to Toronto on Feb. 19, 1997, the season before Duncan arrived, and their largest ever at the AT&T Center, which opened in 2002.

The Blazers (29-32) may be on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, but did not play as such Friday.

In addition to Lillard’s explosion, Portland also got 26 points from LaMarcus Aldridge, 23 points and 11 rebounds from J.J. Hickson and 20 off the bench from Eric Maynor. The Blazers’ point total was the highest against a Spurs team at home since a 161-153 win over Denver on Nov. 7, 1990.

“They shot the hell out of it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of a team that hit 61.6 percent from the field and 13 of 21 3-pointers. “Bad combination if they’re doing that and we’re playing poor defense.”

How deadly was that combination? The Spurs shot 52.4 percent from the field, scored 60 points in the paint — and lost by 30.

Third in the NBA in defensive efficiency coming in, the Spurs allowed 57 points in the first half, but were good enough on offense to play the Blazers to a draw.

It wasn’t until after intermission that the wheels came completely off.

“We thought we played badly in the first half,” said Duncan, who ended with 18 points. “Then we came out in the second half and our second half was even worse.”

The loss, combined with Miami’s victory over Philadelphia, nudged the Spurs .005 percentage points below the Heat for the NBA’s best record. Combined with Oklahoma City’s win at Charlotte, it pulled the Thunder within 1????1/2? games of the Spurs atop the Western Conference. Just in time for the Thunder’s visit to the AT&T Center on Monday.

“There will a bunch of film study involved in this one,” Duncan said. “Hopefully we can regroup and come back better for the next one.”

Near the end of the third quarter, Lillard gave a hint of what was to come in the fourth, scoring or assisting on Portland’s final 14 points to stake his team to a 90-82 lead.

The sixth overall pick out of Weber State, Lillard saved his best for last, erupting for 14 points in the final frame to thoroughly demoralize the Spurs.

Lillard finished 12 of 20 from the field, 3 for 4 from 3-point range and 8 of 8 from the foul line. He raised his scoring average in three games against the Spurs this season to 28 points.

“I felt like it was working for us,” Lillard said, “so I kept being aggressive.”

Spurs forward Stephen Jackson called Lillard “a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year,” which at this point has reached a “sky is blue” level of obviousness.

“He definitely doesn’t play like a rookie,” Spurs guard Patty Mills said. “When he’s on a roll, he’s on a roll. He ate up our defense.”

For the Spurs, the best news Friday came before the game, when Parker — out perhaps for three more weeks with a left ankle sprain — was able to survive some light treadmill work.

Until Parker returns, all the Spurs can do is soldier on, knowing life without him won’t be easy — but it can’t get much harder than it was Friday night.